Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has cut ties with writers Jessica Price and Peter Fries after the pair became involved in a divisive Twitter exchange with streamer Deroir.
Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet has fired writers Jessica Price and Peter Fries after the pair became involved in a divisive Twitter exchange with streamer Deroir.
As reported by PCGamer, Deroir is partnered with ArenaNet through its content creator program, but got on the wrong side of Price after replying to a Twitter thread she wrote explaining the drawbacks of writing player controlled characters in MMOs.
Price used the thread to specifically shed light on why its so difficult to make player character in MMOs compelling, especially compared to pre-designed characters in single-player games.
Deroir replied to argue that branching dialogue options might be one way of giving players more ways to imbue their character with personality, and suggested that the issue isn’t unique to the MMO genre as Price had initially stated.
Price then highlighted Deroir’s response, and claimed his reply was both uninformed and condescending, especially considering her experience as a writer. Fellow scribe Fries defended her stance in a (now deleted) tweet, and claimed she never asked for feedback from Deroir or anyone else.
After seeing her reaction, Deroir apologized for offending Price, and insisted he was only trying to « create dialogue and discussion. »
In most cases, that might’ve been the end of it, but ArenaNet president Mike O’Brien has now dismissed both Price and Fries after describing their tweets as an « attack on the community. »
« Recently two of our employees failed to uphold our standards of communicating with players. Their attacks on the community were unacceptable. As a result, they’re no longer with the company, » he wrote on the Guild Wars 2 forum.
« I want to be clear that the statements they made do not reflect the views of ArenaNet at all. As a company we always strive to have a collaborative relationship with the Guild Wars community. We value your input. We make this game for you. »
